


Job Satisfaction

by weepingwillow



Series: Merlin Memory Month Fics [10]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:16:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10952874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weepingwillow/pseuds/weepingwillow
Summary: Merlin stood outside the doors to the throne room, fingers twitching with nerves by his side. Everything was down to him, success or failure.





	Job Satisfaction

Merlin stood outside the doors to the throne room, fingers twitching with nerves by his side. The thick oak doors blocked the sound from inside, so all he could hear was the muffled murmur of the assembled crowd and, overlaid on that, the unmistakable deep timbre of the King.

 

He crossed his arms over his new padded jacket, then uncrossed them again. He rubbed at the back of his neck. It all felt so strange, even the new clothes sat oddly against his skin. And it was all so sudden - he didn't really know how he was supposed to act. He didn't know what Arthur expected of him, not in this moment at least, didn't know what the people needed to see.

 

Everything was down to him, success or failure.

 

He halted his hand halfway to mess through his hair. Arthur had fixed that, in a strange role reversal, before heading into the hall. Arthur would want to see it neat.

 

Hand hanging in the air like that, Arthur's voice went quiet, speech clearly over, and the doors swung open. Quickly, Merlin dropped his hand to his side and headed up the aisle between rows of seats. The entirety of Camelot was staring at him, with a mix of pride, perplexity, and shock. Merlin almost faltered and turned back, but Arthur was standing in front of his throne, holding out a magical sceptre.

 

Merlin knelt before him like they had practiced. He reached up to take Arthur's hand and bowed his head.

 

“I give you, Arthur, King of Camelot, my fealty. I promise to serve you and protect you as long as I live, as your sorcerer.”

 

The words he said had been just as true without the audience, true in fact before he'd said them aloud, but now there were witnesses. The whole city knew of his devotion.

 

“Rise, Merlin, Sorcerer of Camelot.”

 

Not only that, but the whole city now knew of his powers. And Merlin could do as he wished - to continue as before, keeping Arthur on the course of his destiny, but he would no longer have to struggle to hide it. Nor would he have to forego helping others in the interests of secrecy.

 

To Merlin, that was all he could ever have hoped for. As Arthur helped him upright and handed him the sceptre, Merlin finally let that hit home. It was a gesture - this whole ceremony was - and in a way it could seem meaningless. Arthur handed Merlin a staff he already owned, as if he was granting Merlin a power he always had. But it was far more than that. It legitimised what Merlin did. It pulled him out of the shadows and helped make way for others like him, too.

 

He stood next to Arthur in front of the throne and his grin shone right to the back of the room and the servants, while Arthur called for a celebratory feast and the people, to Merlin's surprise and joy, cheered. That night, they drank and they sang, but Merlin could not wait for the night to be over. Because, for the first time in his life, with a day of spellbooks and lawmaking and magical creatures ahead of him, Merlin was actually excited to get to work in the morning. And why would he not be, when he had everything he could possibly want.


End file.
